School of Art & Design, UNSW Sydney
The School of Art & Design is part of UNSW Sydney in Sydney, Australia. It offers undergraduate and postgraduate art and design programmes. International undergraduate entry is mainly by academic results and English; a portfolio is required only for domestic applicants through Portfolio Entry.
Sydney, AustraliaArt school within a universityunsw.edu.au
Schools and subjects
- Fine Arts (visual arts, animation, art theory, music)
- Design (computational, industrial, integrated)
- Media Arts
- 3D Visualisation
- Immersive Technology
- Curating and Cultural Leadership
Listed under: animation schools, product and industrial design schools, fine art schools.
Undergraduate requirements
Bachelor of Fine Arts (Program 4830) / Bachelor of Design (Program 4825)
UNSW Portfolio Entry Early Conditional Offer Scheme: for domestic Australian students only. Category A degrees (including Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelor of Design) require a cover letter (up to 400 words) plus a portfolio (up to 6 JPG/JPEG/PNG images, each with a title and an artist/designer statement of up to 50 words and the year of creation; or a URL showreel/portfolio; or a 500-word critical review) plus a Generative AI declaration, submitted via the portfolio-entry portal (digital submission, 100MB limit). International undergraduate applications are primarily assessed on ATAR/equivalent results and English requirements; a portfolio is not mandatory (music requires audition).
Faculty of Arts, Design & Architecture: IELTS 6.5 overall (min 6.0 in each subtest); TOEFL iBT 90 overall (min 23 writing, 22 reading, listening, speaking); PTE 64 overall (min 54 each); Cambridge C1 176 (min 169 each).
Bachelor of Design 2026 indicative: full first-year fee AU$49,500, complete-degree fee AU$158,000; Bachelor of Fine Arts 2026 indicative: first year AU$49,000, complete degree AU$156,500.
No (undergraduate selection is mainly via portfolio/ATAR; music requires audition, not interview).
Postgraduate requirements
Master of Design (Program 9313)
Depending on background, a portfolio may be required: a 10-page A4 digital portfolio (with critical reflection text) plus a cover letter (up to 400 words, stating interests and motivation) plus evidence of professional experience in design/media (employer/client reference letters) plus a two-page CV (including two referees' contact details). Applicants with a non-related undergraduate background must pass a portfolio assessment.
Same as undergraduate: IELTS 6.5 overall (min 6.0 each); TOEFL iBT 90 overall (min 23 writing, 22 reading/listening/speaking); PTE 64 (min 54 each); Cambridge C1 176 (min 169 each).
2026 indicative: full first-year fee AU$48,500, complete-degree fee AU$101,500 (the 2026 international postgraduate guide also estimates the first year at AU$46,500).
No (assessed on portfolio and academic background).
Other notes
UNSW College Standard Foundation Program (Design & Architecture stream, 9 months, 2027 fee AU$43,650; CRICOS 114315M) articulates to UNSW Art & Design undergraduate; also a Diploma pathway and Pre-Masters Program (Art & Design) (15 weeks, 2027 AU$24,900, CRICOS 113490D, articulating to Master of Design and others). URL: https://www.unswcollege.edu.au/study/standard-program ; https://www.unswcollege.edu.au/study/pre-masters-art-design
International Student Award: international students commencing in 2026/2027 may receive a 20% tuition fee remission (for citizens of specified countries); International Scientia Coursework Scholarship: full tuition fee or AU$20,000 tuition contribution per year; Australia's Global University Award: one-off AU$10,000. URL: https://www.unsw.edu.au/study/your-future/international-scholarships
Portfolio Entry requires a Declaration of Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process, stating whether and how generative AI was used (in the writing process); basic grammar/spelling/referencing tools are excluded. URL: https://www.unsw.edu.au/study/how-to-apply/undergraduate/admission-pathways/portfolio-entry
Sources for this page
- https://www.unsw.edu.au/arts-design-architecture/our-schools/art-design
- https://www.unsw.edu.au/study/undergraduate/bachelor-of-design1
- https://www.unsw.edu.au/study/undergraduate/bachelor-of-fine-arts1
- https://www.unsw.edu.au/study/how-to-apply/undergraduate/admission-pathways/portfolio-entry
- https://www.unsw.edu.au/study/how-to-apply/english-language-requirements
- https://www.unsw.edu.au/study/postgraduate/master-of-design
Taken from the school’s website and checked on 2026-10-27. Schools change their requirements every year; open the official pages above to confirm the current version before you apply.